Tom Brady is the greatest of all time, according to Aaron Rodgers.
On Sunday night, Brady and Rodgers will meet for the first time since 2014 when the Packers pay the Patriots a visit. As expected, the lead up to one of the most anticipated games of the season has involving both quarterbacks fielding questions about each other. As expected, both quarterbacks are playing nice by showering each other with praise.
That praise includes Rodgers saying that Brady is, in fact, the greatest of all time.
"He's got five championships," Rodgers said Wednesday, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "I think that ends most discussions."
Brady's claim as the greatest of all time largely rests on his five Super Bowls, but it's also bolstered by his all-time rankings in passing yards (fourth), touchdown passes (third), passer rating (third), fourth-quarter comebacks (second), and so on. At 41, Brady still isn't showing signs of slowing down. He won MVP a season ago and he's on pace to throw for 4,400 yards and 32 touchdowns this season. If he continues to play at his level for another few seasons, he won't just have a chance to win another championship (or two or three more), he'll also have a chance to break more records. It seems all but certain that when he does retire, Brady will be as unanimous of a GOAT as one can be.
On Sunday, Brady won't be going up against the greatest quarterback of all time, but he might be going up against the most talented quarterback ever. Rodgers, 34, lacks the Super Bowls (he's won one) and all-time records that Brady has, but Rogers will undoubtedly be remembered for pulling off the kind of plays that Brady isn't even capable of trying. Brady's more accomplished and successful than Rodgers, but the way in which Rodgers has played will be seen as more impressive. He's capable of making impossible throws on the move that Brady can't even try because Brady's physical limitations prevent him from doing so. It shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that Brady also praised Rodgers ahead of Sunday's game.
Sunday's game, by the way, will be only their second game against each other as starters. In their lone matchup that came in 2014, Rodgers led the Packers to a 26-21 win in Green Bay, throwing for 368 yards and two touchdowns.
As of Wednesday evening, though, the Packers are 5.5-point road underdogs for Sunday's game.